The flow of cargo through the Port of Los Angeles fell 3 percent in November, compared with the same month last year, but overall volume rose 6.5 percent since Jan. 1, port officials announced Wednesday.
The port saw 663,346 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, pass through the port last month, down 3 percent from 683,849 TEUs in November 2013.
The volume of loaded containers dropped 7.2 percent, but the inclusion of empty containers, which increased 10.6 percent compared with last year, helped scale back the decline to 3 percent.
Imports fell 2.7 percent last month, from 342,247 TEUs in 2013 to 333,153 TEUs this year.
Exports took a 16 percent dive, from 179,176 TEUs to 150,568 TEUs, which port officials attributed to weaker overseas demand and a strong dollar that pushes up the cost of U.S. goods.
Cargo volume over the past 11 months totaled 7.68 million TEUs, up 6.5 percent higher from the 7.2 million TEUs during the same period in 2013.
— City News Service